Limitless Word
The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were present.
Acts 21:18 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB The day following, Paul went in with us to James; and all the elders were present.
  • KJV And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
  • NKJV On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.
  • NASB And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.
  • NLT The next day Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The next day Paul meets with James and all the elders. He reports to the leadership of the Jerusalem church.

Overview

James, the Lord's brother and leader of the Jerusalem church, gathers the elders to receive Paul. This formal meeting reflects the orderly leadership of the early church and Paul's accountability to it. The encounter sets up the discussion of how to address concerns among Jewish believers about Paul's ministry.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Gal 1:19But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.
  • Acts 11:30This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul.
  • Acts 15:13When they had finished speaking, James declared, “Brothers, listen to me!
  • Gal 2:9And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.
  • Acts 20:17From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.
  • Acts 12:17Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place.
  • Acts 15:23and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.
  • Acts 15:6So the apostles and elders met to look into this matter.
  • Matt 10:2These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
  • Acts 15:2And after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
  • Jas 1:1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 21:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 21:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.